Lisa Bloom Joins TODAY as Legal Analyst

Lisa Bloom, lawyer and best-selling author, has joined NBC News' "Today" as a legal analyst. The announcement was made by "Today" Executive Producer, Don Nash and is effective immediately. Bloom will contribute legal analysis and commentary to both live and taped segments for the morning program.

Bloom is the founder and managing partner of The Bloom Firm, a general practice law firm in Los Angeles that handles family, civil and criminal matters. She also serves as legal advisor, analyst and spokesperson for Avvo.com, the largest online expert-only health and legal Q&A forum. As a practicing trial lawyer, Bloom has taken on many civil rights cases, and she has represented several prominent figures in business, politics and entertainment. Bloom's work has set legal precedent on important social issues from some of the first cases involving the rights of AIDS patients to cases of sexual abuse survivors.

From 2001 to 2009, Bloom hosted Court TV's "Lisa Bloom: Open Court," a daily two-hour live legal news program. She has also made numerous television appearances on programs including "Dr. Phil," "The Rachael Ray Show," and "Piers Morgan Tonight." Bloom has covered a variety of notable cases such as the Saddam Hussein crimes against humanity, the Enron corporate fraud trial, and the OJ Simpson trials.

Bloom has written two books, the New York Times bestseller "Think: Straight Talk for Women to Stay Smart in a Dumbed-Down World" and "Swagger: 10 Urgent Rules for Raising Boys in an Era of Failing Schools, Mass Joblessness and Thug Culture."

Bloom is a graduate of Yale Law School, and she received her B.A. from UCLA.

Photo Via Bloom's Official Facebook Page